Luggage hardware



Oct. 14, 1952 D. I EvlNE LUGGAGE HARDWARE Filed 001;. 21, 1948 avon.:

IN VEN TOR. Driv/D EVM/E A TTO'QNY Patented Oct. 14, 1952 LUGGAGEHARDWARE David Levine, New York, N. Y., assignor to Crest Lock Co.,Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 21,1948, Serial No. 55,671

2 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to an article of luggage hardware, moreparticularly to a piece or ring, generally known as a D ring, forconnecting a luggage handle to the article of luggage proper. The termluggage as used herein embraces ladies handbags.

InV connecting a handle to many types of articles of luggage, a D ringis passed through a hole or loop at the end of the handle and throughanother loop in a strip of leather, or the like, generally formed by thefolding over of the leatherl strip, which is secured to the luggagepiece.

Heretofore, three different conventional types of D rings have been usedin the art, each type with certain disadvantages inherent in itsconstruction.

-One type of D ring heretofore used is a split ring made of wire, itsends generally meeting along a straight side' of the ring. Such ringrequires to be iirst spread open, which is a separate. time consumingoperation, requiring the use of tools. It then must be pushed throughthe loop in the handle; an operation requiring a great deal ofmanipulation, especially with stiffened handles. It next must beassembled with the loop of the folded connecting strip, an operationwhich again requires the use of tools, such as pliers or a hammer, toclose the ring. Usually the ring cannot be restored to completelyclosedstate and a gap remains which widens, in time, through repeated use,suii'iciently for the ring to become disengaged from the connectingstrip or handle.

Another type of D-ring conventionally used is a cast split ring. Suchring is delivered opened to the luggage manufacturer and does notrequire the spreading operation. However, suchl cast ring is necessarilyof greater thickness and stil-"fer than a Wire ring, so that theassembly With the handle becomes more diicult and the closing operationrequires greater force and effort and frequently results in breakageduring closing.

A third, conventional type of D ring heretofore in use is the one piecering, which is either cast, forged or stamped. This type of D ring mustbe sent out by the luggage manufacturer to have the handle built aroundit, at considerablevincreased cost of the handle. Furthermore, the ringand handle must be assembled with the connecting strip and theconnecting strip secured to the luggage piece before any of the pockets,partition and lining may be secured in place thereon. As a consequence,any delay in the delivery of the rings and handles from the handle makerwill result in the stoppage and delay of the entire production, atenormous cost to the manufacturer. f

The present invention contemplates, therefore, the provision of a D ringwhich possesses rnone of the disadvantages of any vof the foregoingconventional types of D-rings and which possesses all of theircombinedadvantages.

lt is an object of the present invention to provide a D-ring of thecharacter described which does not require any bending or distortion ofits shape to open or close for assembly-purposes.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a D-ring of thechar-acterdescribed which will not loosen and .become disengaged fromthe connecting piece or handle during use.r

It is .also an object oi the present invention to provide a D-ring ofthe character described which will permit the assembly of the handleWiththe luggage piece at any time,:either .before or after completion ofthe luggage lpiece properfandmay not, therefore, interfere withr orretard the production line.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a D-ringof the character described which is strong Yand durableand is notlikelyfto break during assembly.

`it is still further an obect of the. .present invention to vprovide aD-ring of the characterfdescribed which is itself economical to produceand which may be used .to connect a handle to a luggage piece with greatfacility, with a minimum of force and elort and a great saving'in timeand labor with resulting productioneconomies.

The `foregoing and other advantages and superiorities of the D-rings ofthe present invention will become more readilyapparent to those skilledin the art `from the several embodiments thereof shown in theaccompanying drawings and from the descriptionl following. lt is to beunderstood, however, that -such embodiments are shown by Wayoiillustration only, to make the principles and practice of theinvention more readily comprehensible, and Without any intention oflimiting'` the invention to the specic details therein shown. I

ln the drawings: I

Fig. 1 is asideelevation of a luggage piece employing .a D.ring of thepresent invention tosccureitshandle thereto; f

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same;

Fi-g. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view ofthe D-ring, handle and`connecting -strip assembly, with the D-ring partly in section-to showstructural details thereof; y

Fig. 4 is an'edge view of the assembly of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5. is a section taken on line 'a3- 510i Fig..3; Fig. 6 is aviewsimilar to Fig. 3, `showing the assembly before-the D-.ring iscompletely closed;

Fig'. 7 is a lview similar `to Fig. 3, showing a modied iormofD-ring;and

Fig. 8 isan edge View of the assembly of Fig. 4'7.

Referring more specically t0 the accompany- 'ing drawings, it willbeseen that, generally stated, the D-ring of the invention'which maybe-vmadewof `any suitable metalby any desirable process comprises asubstantially U-shaped sec'- tion and an associated, separate pin orpintle section which spans the opening of the U-section.

In the embodimentr of Figs. 1-6, inclusive, the U-shaped section,generally designated as I0, comprises an arcuate base portion and sideportions or legs I2 and I3 substantially parallel to one another. Thelegs I2 and I3 are each provided adjacent their ends, with an aperture,such as |4 and I5, respectively, which are aligned and facing oneanother. One of the apertures, such as I4, may be of uniform crosssection throughout and may extend completely through the leg I2, or itmay extend only partly therethrough, just forming arecess therein, asillustrated. The other aperture I5 may have at least its outer portionof enlarged cross section, 4to form a seat or socket I6.

The opening of the U-shaped section I is spanned and closed by a loopengaging pin or pintle I'I, which may be inserted through the aperture Iand into the aperture I 4, to bridge the opening of the section I0. Thepintle I7 is formed with an enlarged, finely knurled head I8 at one end,of a cross section slightly larger than the cross section of the socketI6 so that it may be force-fitted into the socket to be thereby tightlyand safely secured in place. The other end of the pintle may be snuglytted without force into the aperture III.

In use, a strip 20 is secured in suitable location on the bag 2| as bystitching or other suitable means, and preferably in folded overposition, to form a detached loop 22. The section I Il of a D-ring ofthe present invention is then inserted through an opening or loop 23 atthe end of a preformed handle 24. The pintle I1 is then inserted throughthe aperture I5 through a loop .22 and into the aperture I4 and issecured in place by having its knurled head |8 forcefitted, by means ofsuitable tool or device into the socket |6.

It will be readily apparent that the section I0, not having any inwardlybent end portions such as found in the conventional split wire ring, maybe easily and rapidly inserted through the openings 23 of the handle 24,and that the D-ring of the present invention may be engaged with theconnecting strip 20 with eoual ease and speed, without any danger ofbreaking and at any time prior to or after the luggage piece 2| has beenotherwise completed.

It also will be apparent that a small and simple -tool can be employedto force t the pintle in its operative position.

In the embodiment of Figs. 7 and 8, the U-shaped section, generallydesignated as 3l, may be formed with a straight base portion 3| whichmay have the legs 32 and 33 extending to one side thereof and theintegrally formed closed loop or ring 35 extending to the other sidethereof. such closed loop being provided, preferably, with a straightloop-engaging side 36 substantially parallel to the base portion 3 Inpractice, the D-ring of Figs. 7 and 8, is rst secured to the strip 20 bypassing the fold of the strip -20 over the side 36 of the closed ringsection 35 before it is secured to the luggage piece 2|. The D-ring isthen secured to the handle 24 by passing the pintle I'I through the endloop 23, thereof, and securing the head I 8, by force fitting, into thesocket I 6.

This completes the description of the several embodiments of the D-ringsof the present invention. It will be apparent, however, that manymodifications and variations of the same may be made by any one skilledin thefart, in accordance with the principles of the inventionhereinabove set forth and Without the use of any inventive ingenuity.

I desire, therefore, to have the protection of the patent laws for anyand all such modifications and variations that may be made within thespirit of the present invention and the scope of the claims heretoappended.

What I claim is:

1. A ring for connecting a preformed loop of a piece of luggage to apreformed loop of a handle, said ring comprising a U-shaped memberincluding a base and substantially parallel widely spaced legs. saidring additionally comprising a pintle, one end of said pintle beinglarger than the other, said legs having aligned facing apertures formedtherein, the opposite ends of said pintle being received in saidapertures, the aperture which receives the larger end of the pintlebeing a through aperture and having a diameter slightly smaller than thediameter Aof said larger end, the other aperture slidably receiving thesmaller end of the pintle, whereby with the base of the U-shaped memberin one of the preformed loops, the smaller end of ther pintle can bethreaded first through the through aperture and then through the otherpreformed loop after Which said small end is slidably received in itsaperture as the larger end is force-tted in the through aperture.

2. A ring for connecting a preformed loop of a piece of luggage to apreformed loop of a handle, said ring compising a U-shaped memberincluding a base, a pair of substantially parallel widely spaced legsand a bar in one piece with said legs and extending therebetweenintermediate the opposite ends of the legs so that the bar is spacedfrom the base and from the tips of the legs, said ring additionallycomprising a pintle, one end of said pintle being larger than the other,said legs having aligned facing apertures formed therein, the oppositeends of said pintle being received in said apertures, the vaperturewhich receives the larger end of the pintle being a through aperture andhaving a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of said larger end,the other aperture slidably receiving the smaller end of the pintle,whereby with the base of the U-shaped member in one of the preformedloops, the smaller end of the pintle can be threaded first through thethrough aperture and then through the other preformed loop after whichsaid small end is slidably received in its aperture as the larger end isforce-tted in the through aperture.

DAVID LEVINE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 382,545 Minard et al May 8, 18881,602,422 Way et al. Oct. 12, 1926 1,940,307 Keeler Dec. 19, 19332,170,841 Thies et al Aug. 29, 1939 2,231,060 Eber Feb. 11, 1941l2,450,820 Wilcox Oct. 5, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 2,519Great Britain Feb. 1, 1902 207,457 Switzerland Feb. 1, 1940

